The kids of today have toys we never even imagined. I will say some of them would have been handy though ... on those long trips in the car. Having a movie to watch would have occupied the kids for sure. A cell phone would have been great to keep in touch with family when out and about and to call assistance for a flat tire. But let me tell you about life as a kid when the pressure was so much less than it is today.
Just for fun and pleasure.
I had a bar across two small mulberry trees. I hung, swung, and flipped on that bar for hours. I had a push lawnmower that I mowed the yard with .... just because someone had to do it and so why not me. We had a huge garden that I hoed and weeded every summer day and got a nice tan. I had a cornfield that was a great place to just get lost in. When the corn was tall, it was the perfect maze to meander through. We had a swing hung from a tall cottonwood tree and that swing had a LONG sway. I had a baby duck every spring and it considered anyone who fed it, its parent. I'd fill the galvanized tub with water, lean a board up to the top of the tub, and the duck knew what to do...walk up and jump in. We had baby chickens too, but they didn't swim.
We didn't have TV to bombard us with ads on toys. A doll was about it for Christmas. Maybe a stroller or doll bed. We had a piano and lessons that went with it. A yoyo was a good toy to actually learn how to manipulate and spin. If we were desperate, there was always mud pies. We were outside most of the time when weather permitted. No AC inside... maybe a fan when it was real hot. If not an electric one, then a cardboard fan on a stick. Kool aid was a good drink. Ice if the Ice Man was going through and if there was 50 cents to buy a block of ice from the truck.
We had a small store that had ice cream and cold drinks. Royal Crown, Pepsi, Coke, Nehi. We went for walks. I had a bicycle that was the best toy I had.
Summers seemed too short and winters too long. On all accounts, it was a nice time to be a kid.
But the best part was the freedom and luxury of not having a government breathing down our throats. Schools were locally run and so were the banks. With 50 cents worth of gas, we could ride around all evening. Our first new Chevy cost $3,200. We bought our own "hospitalization insurance" and paid cash for the doctor bill and prescription (there were no credit cards), which were both under $20. Insurance didn't go with the job. When it did, and government got involved, it all went sky high.
Today's living is sure different.... whether it's good or not... there's no going back to the good ole' days.
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